Why being a teenager is so hard. | Teen Ink

Why being a teenager is so hard.

August 18, 2012
By Anonymous

As a child you constantly hear adults complaining about teenagers. How they are antisocial, grumpy and impossible to get along with. I always thought to myself, “I’ll never be like that, why would I be?” For it seemed to me that teenagers (teenage girls to be precise) were this way because they cared too much about how they looked, make up and hairstyles were the second most important thing in their life, and the most important thing was boys. Now that I am a teenager, I can say that although these things are important, they are not the reason why being a teenager is so hard.

There are a lot of changes between childhood and being a teenager, and many of them are unexpected. For me, the most dramatic change has occurred recently. I have started to see the world as a new place. A place where drinking and drugs are common problems, peer pressure isn’t something you are warned about but a daily factor in many of your decisions. Friends you have known since forever begin to do things you don’t agree with, and eventually they turn into strangers. And the secret thoughts and fears told to you by your best friend are no longer about life, but about death. Suicide isn’t something you hear about on the news, it is now what keeps you up at night when your friend doesn’t reply and you don’t know why. You worry about them, about school, about what other people think of you. You put on a brave face to the world, and cry yourself to sleep in the safety of your own room.

Happy, sad, angry, confused and scared. They used to be the extent of your emotions, with a few others occasionally appearing in special circumstances. Now you don’t even know how you feel. One minute you can be happy, relaxed, calm and cool, but then one short text message can leave you angry, jealous, scared, worried, and frozen. They don’t tell you when you turn thirteen that feelings can bounce and change in seconds. I think we should be warned. Wouldn’t you like a letter in the post, telling you what will happen? That things will be scary, confusing, and different…but that you will make it through? We need something to hold on to when life is slowly slipping away, being replaced by something we cannot understand. Tell your friend today that they will make it, make them smile. Because we need our friends, and we need to keep smiling. Listen to a happy song, tell a funny joke, just hang in there and never give up.


The author's comments:
I wrote this because I thought what I wrote needed to be said. I needed to see if anyone else agrees with me or feels the same way. I hope that people will gain hope when they read it and that anyone out there who is lost will realise that they aren't alone.

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This article has 34 comments.


Ozayr said...
on Feb. 25 2015 at 9:21 am
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Ozayr said...
on Feb. 25 2015 at 9:21 am
Give me ur bbm pin please
Cheers

Ozayr said...
on Feb. 25 2015 at 9:21 am
Give me ur bbm pin please
Cheers

Ozayr said...
on Feb. 25 2015 at 9:21 am
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Cheers

on Jun. 4 2013 at 6:57 pm
Jade.I.Am ELITE, Fishers, Indiana
214 articles 14 photos 1159 comments

Favorite Quote:
&ldquo;If you&#039;re losing your soul and you know it, then you&#039;ve still got a soul left to lose&rdquo; <br /> ― Charles Bukowski

The part about friends who are suicidal really got to me, because I can relate. Thank you, this is very inspiring.

on Sep. 12 2012 at 11:07 am
LittleLadybird GOLD, Carrickfergus, Other
14 articles 0 photos 48 comments

Favorite Quote:
To be nobody but yourself in a world that is trying it&#039;s hardest every night and day to change you into everyone else is to fight the hardest battle a human being can fight, and never stop fighting.

Thank u! :D love constructive criticism-its acc so helpful! :) yeah thats a really good point :) will think about planning it more next time! :D

on Sep. 11 2012 at 4:33 pm
dolphincrazy226 BRONZE, Madison, Alabama
4 articles 2 photos 28 comments

Favorite Quote:
Life is Good!

Yes! Totally!  You have made my day!  I know exactly how you feel. I would feel that your first paragraph is the weakest, and the second paragraph would be better as the first.  But don't get me wrong, I like how you mentioned the priorities and such, but it kinda clashes when you bring up the fickleness of the teenage emotions.  I have a feeling that you should focus more on the feelings, because that seems to make up the main point in the end. And by the way, hugs work too;)  Optimism eliminates the darkness!

on Sep. 11 2012 at 3:04 pm
LittleLadybird GOLD, Carrickfergus, Other
14 articles 0 photos 48 comments

Favorite Quote:
To be nobody but yourself in a world that is trying it&#039;s hardest every night and day to change you into everyone else is to fight the hardest battle a human being can fight, and never stop fighting.

No hard feelings :) how would I make it better then?

on Sep. 11 2012 at 2:52 pm
I-Love-EDM SILVER, Hamilton, New Jersey
6 articles 0 photos 13 comments

Favorite Quote:
Pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore, trust the physician. Drink from its cup of remedy in silence and tranquility.

it really really touching. its ok though. no hard feelings

on Sep. 11 2012 at 1:41 pm
LittleLadybird GOLD, Carrickfergus, Other
14 articles 0 photos 48 comments

Favorite Quote:
To be nobody but yourself in a world that is trying it&#039;s hardest every night and day to change you into everyone else is to fight the hardest battle a human being can fight, and never stop fighting.

Meant to write that under teraku's comment, sorry :L

on Sep. 11 2012 at 1:39 pm
LittleLadybird GOLD, Carrickfergus, Other
14 articles 0 photos 48 comments

Favorite Quote:
To be nobody but yourself in a world that is trying it&#039;s hardest every night and day to change you into everyone else is to fight the hardest battle a human being can fight, and never stop fighting.

Thanx!!! :D Awwk ur so kind! And I really wanted to say it, it matters to me :) x

on Sep. 11 2012 at 1:29 pm
Amarithie PLATINUM, Ocala, Florida
26 articles 0 photos 17 comments
wow,  you make a big point.and i love it. thank u for finally saying what alot of teenagers r thinking. great job.  

on Sep. 11 2012 at 12:26 pm
LittleLadybird GOLD, Carrickfergus, Other
14 articles 0 photos 48 comments

Favorite Quote:
To be nobody but yourself in a world that is trying it&#039;s hardest every night and day to change you into everyone else is to fight the hardest battle a human being can fight, and never stop fighting.

Thank u sooo much!! :D I love writing but don't know if I'm any good so I put some pieces on Teenink-this is my first comment! x

K-Lewy BRONZE said...
on Sep. 11 2012 at 12:13 pm
K-Lewy BRONZE, Lost Springs, Kansas
4 articles 0 photos 13 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Life is like a coin, you can spend it any way you want, but you can only spend it once.&quot;

I think this is a very powerful piece and I really like its meaning. Keep up the great work!!! :)